Animal: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Five years after its opening, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's flagship restaurant still feels shiny and new, a standard-bearer for the meat-centric food of the moment. Shook and Dotolo may have started the dude-food craze, but, unlike many of their imitators, they understand the finer points of acid and balance, freshness and fat. Animal is bare-bones and trendy — no sign out front, no cocktails, minimal design. The focus remains on the food, which is a blessing. Their marrow bone comes with a pert chimichurri; their strips of fried pig ear come with an egg but also with chili and lime; and their grilled quail with plum char siu, pear, apple and yogurt is as composed and thoughtful as anything in the city's stuffier, more expensive restaurants, and twice as delicious. If you have only a few meals in Los Angeles, this should still be one of them. 435 N. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax District; (323) 782-9225, animalrestaurant.com. Sun.-Thurs., 6-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 6 p.m.-mid. Entrees $12-$29. Beer and wine.